


Pup

by whitehorsetiger



Series: Pack Dynamics [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Baby, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, Love, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Keith (Voltron), Smut, instincts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-13 14:06:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: All of the secondary sexes are capable of carrying a pup and impregnating others, all that changes is how effective they are. Omegas tend to have the easiest pregnancies and the easiest time getting pregnant, although this can only happen during a heat. They also have the most trouble impregnating others. Alphas tend to have the most high-risk pregnancies and the most difficulty getting pregnant but have the easiest time getting others pregnant. A rut isn’t necessary for this, but boosts an alpha’s fertility. Betas lay somewhere in-between the two.Five instincts and one new family member.





	1. Scenting

**Author's Note:**

> In case it wasn't obvious and somehow you missed all my warnings...this is the last one...this story contains MPREG if you do not like that sort of thing...please don't read because you will probably not like this

_All of the secondary sexes are capable of carrying a pup and impregnating others, all that changes is how effective they are. Omegas tend to have the easiest pregnancies and the easiest time getting pregnant, although this can only happen during a heat. They also have the most trouble impregnating others. Alphas tend to have the most high-risk pregnancies and the most difficulty getting pregnant but have the easiest time getting others pregnant. A rut isn’t necessary for this, but boosts an alpha’s fertility. Betas lay somewhere in-between the two._

Keith was mad…no, he was frustrated…no he was kind of sad. When he really though about it, Keith was all of these things, but mostly frustrated. He was only supposed to be on this stupid space station for one week, one week of monitoring, one week of supervising. He’d been here almost a month now, one freeking month of excuses and delays and Keith had thoroughly had enough. He was supposed to be home, he was supposed to be home with his husband, visiting Lance’s family in Cuba.

Keith stalked down the hallway, people scattering out of his way at the thunderous expression on his face. He shouldn’t have taken this stupid job, he knew it was really close to when their trip was planned. There was that itch under his skin, drawing him into space. He should’ve ignored it, now he just wanted to be at home.

“Sir?” a very nervous voice said from behind him.  
Keith whirled around, causing the poor young woman to jump back about a metre. He felt a little bad about it, she hadn’t actually done anything wrong.  
“Yes?” Keith said, trying not to sound too short.  
“You’re wanted on the bridge,” she said, practically shaking.  
Keith bit back a groan, that was never good. Don’t get mad at her, it's not her fault, deep breath.  
“Thank you,” Keith replied.  
She nodded, looking relieved that she hadn’t bitten his head off, before scurrying off. Keith sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was the worst, just the worst. Well, he might as well go see what rubbish they were going to try and push on him to make him stay for even longer. Stupid garrison and their stupid requests. Stupid Keith for taking them up on the offer.

****

Keith had been seconds away from loosing it, seconds away from shouting he didn’t care what was happening, he was going home. Finally, he managed to get through their thick skulls, he was going home the day after tomorrow when the next shuttle was leaving. That meant he would completely miss the visit to Lance’s family, but at the very least, he would be home, with his alpha.

The main problem, piling on top of all the other problems with him being away, was the communication issue. Not that they couldn’t keep in contact, it was just with time being kind of funky in space, they just tended to miss each other. His room door slid open, Cosmo bounding off Keith’s bed to greet him as he walked in. Keith sighed as he looked at his tablet, the thing beeping with a video message. He’d missed Lance, again.

Grumbling slightly to himself, Keith hurriedly typed in his passcode before opening the message. He dropped back onto the bed, Cosmo splaying over his legs. A smile automatically spread across his face as he saw the image that opened the video. Lance, surrounded by his entire family. Luis’s kids were squished against him, the youngest, third, completely intentional child was clinging to one leg. Marco’s eldest clinging to the other and the youngest in Lance’s arms.

Keith smiled, feeling himself tear up a little bit at the image in front of him. Shaking his head slightly, Keith hit play, might as well actually have a reason to cry.  
“Keith!” he winced at the loud declaration of his name.  
“We miss you…”  
“You promised you’d be…”  
“You must come by soon…”  
“Why didn’t you…”  
“You should be here…”  
“I wanted to…”  
“You haven’t met…”  
“Look how big…”  
“You haven’t seen…”  
“You better be here for…”  
“I told you not to…”  
His ears were immediately assaulted by the sound of many voices as all of them started to talk at one, Keith couldn’t help the big grin spreading across his face.

Eventually they all took time talking to him, and Keith felt a pang go through his chest. He was a little surprised to say this, but he missed the noise, the bustle of visiting Lance’s family. This space station was so quiet, it was awful. Eventually it was just Lance and the youngest left, him having sat down to bounce the little one on his knee. Even all the kids had wanted to talk to him, talking him through a very long story about an interesting frog they had found yesterday. Keith had nodded along, making some soft agreeing noises like he was actually there.

“Hey sweetheart,” Lance said, smiling, “I really wish I could see you, seems you’re probably busy though. It’s really annoying they’ve kept you there for so long ey? Suppose they need you though, duty calls I suppose. Hope I’ll see you soon, I would tell you what I’ve been doing but I think everyone covered that already.”  
He laughed, before pointing to the camera.  
“Say bye to tío Keith!” He said.  
She looked up, staring blankly at the camera. Keith laughed lightly. She reached out a tiny hand.  
“Ah!” she said, before a huge smile spread across her face.  
Keith felt himself melting. God, he hated being one of those stereotypical omegas that melted at the sight of babies, babies weren’t even that great. But Lance’s nieces and nephews were adorable, Keith could justify melting at them.  
“Love you, see you soon,” Lance said, the video cutting off there.  
Keith smiled, before calling Lance. He didn’t pick up, but Keith shared the exciting news about him coming home.

****

Keith didn’t like taking commercial shuttles, they tended to be small, cramped, just generally uncomfortable and slow. But he’d have to wait an extra week for a luxury shuttle and getting home quickly was his biggest priority, the time though, gave him some time to think.

Cosmo lay across his feet, half-asleep. There was something Keith had been thinking about for a while, he just hadn’t had the time to actually properly sit down and think. Maybe, he was going to stop taking these contracts that sent him into space. Now Voltron was mostly not needed anymore, they spend two years on earth, one year in space. When they first slipped into this routine, Keith had found it hard, not being in space. So he’d taken these contracts from the garrison on occasion, going out into space for a few days, or a couple of weeks before returning. This time, he’d been gone for barely a day before thinking this was wrong, he wanted to be home, in the house he shared with Lance. Maybe it was time to stop taking the contracts.

There was another thought though, one he’d only entertained in the very back of his mind. One he’d beaten into submission and spent most of his time ignoring, now though, might be the time to actually pay attention to it. Keith wanted a baby. He’d always wanted a big family, a big happy family with lots of kids. It had always seemed like a distant fantasy, something unobtainable. Lance though, Lance was fantastic with kids, they were married, they were mated, maybe it was time to have a talk.

****

It was night by the time they arrived back at the garrison, Lance couldn’t have come to pick him up as neither of them could be sure exactly when the shuttle would land. It didn’t matter though, it was easy enough to get home.

The high-speed travel available meant that they could live quite far away from the garrison and still work there. Lance was a flight instructor, a very well respected one at that, Keith was a test pilot for the mixture of alien and human technology ships they’d been recently making. Lance had wanted to live on the beach though, so they’d found a nice place, right on the beach a bit out of the closest town. Keith adored their little house, although it probably had a lot to do with who was waiting for him there.

One high-speed underground train ride and a quick stint on his hover-bike later (Cosmo had his own helmet, Lance insisted, even though he could teleport that far on his own…Lance said it was adorable, Keith had secretly agreed), he was finally home.

Lance was fast asleep, looking so peaceful and relaxed. Cosmo hopped up onto the bed, padding up to lay on Lance’s chest before licking his face. Keith realised what was happening too late to stop it, wincing as Lance stirred awake.  
“Mrgh? Cosmo?” he said, pulling up his sleep mask.  
Cosmo yipped slightly, wagging his tail. Lance’s face broke into a bright smile, had scuffing the light blue fur around his neck. He turned, spotting Keith beside the bed.  
“Keith!” Lance said, reaching out.  
“I need a shower,” Keith said, taking his hand.  
Lance hummed, pulling him close and beginning to scent him. Keith unintentionally chirruped, nuzzling closer.  
“No, I need to shower,” he said, pulling away.  
Lance pouted.  
“I’m all sweaty,” Keith insisted, “I’ll be right back.”  
Lance hummed, “Love you.”

By the time Keith was back from his shower, Lance was fast asleep.

****

Keith woke up alone and for a split second he panicked, had last night been a dream. He heard clanging from downstairs, and the scent of Lance washed over him from the covers. Keith buried his face in the pillow beneath his head, nuzzling slightly into the material and taking a deep breath of the scent clinging to it. He couldn’t help but make a happy sound, wriggling slightly. Finally. He lay there for a little while, before remembering, the source of this wonderful scent was not to far away. With a smile, Keith rolled out of bed.

Cosmo was sat at Lance’s feet, staring up longingly at him. Not that he needed to look up much to look into the pan, Cosmo was huge now. Lance was humming to himself slightly, swaying and occasionally pushing Cosmo away whenever the wolf got too close. Keith smiled, padding over as quietly as he could. With his blade training and Lance’s complete obliviousness, it was all too easy.

Waiting for the moment that would minimise the risk of burns, Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, burying his face in the alpha’s neck. Lance made an alarmed sound, almost dropping the spatula. Keith chuckled, nipping lightly at the scent gland before rubbing against it.

“You weren’t in bed,” Keith complained lightly.  
This wasn’t good enough, he needed Lance to scent him properly.  
“I wanted to make you breakfast in bed,” Lance replied, “But you woke up too soon.”  
“You should’ve been faster,” Keith grumbled.  
“You should still be in bed,” Lance said, “You came in very late last night.”  
Keith hummed, burying his face right in the crook of Lance’s neck.  
“Scent me and I’ll go back,” Keith said, knocking his nose against Lance’s chin.  
Lance huffed out a laugh, tugging Keith around to his front.  
“There used to be a time I’d have to beg you to let me scent you,” he said, rubbing his nose and scent glands against Keith’s.

Keith let out an unintentional happy chirrup, tilting his head back to expose his neck.  
“I was a stupid child,” he said.  
“You were eighteen moron,” Lance laughed.  
“Exactly, foolish child,” Keith said.  
Lance snorted, nipping at the scent glands which made Keith purr.  
“Now, go back to bed,” Lance said, nudging him away, “And take your dog too.”  
“Space wolf,” Keith called back, “Here Cosmo.”

Now, Cosmo was a good boy, when it was important. On missions and if he was visiting the blade, Cosmo was always on his best behaviour. He seemed to know it was not a life-or-death situation, so decided not to listen to him.  
“Cosmo, here!” Keith said, pointing to his feet.  
Cosmo looked at him, the ‘you don’t have food’ look, before jerking his head back to Lance. He was laughing.  
“Go with Keith,” he said, and like the traitor he was, Cosmo did.  
“He just missed you,” Keith grumbled, before stalking back to the bedroom.

****

Keith rested his head against Lance’s shoulder, tucked up close to him on the sofa. Ok, now, now was a good time to bring it up.  
“Lance.”  
“Mmm?”  
“I think I’m not going to take contracts for the garrison into space anymore,” Keith said, tugging the blanket further up his chest.  
“Huh? Why? You really love going.”  
“I did…I guess I still do sort of?” Keith sighed, “But now I find myself waiting, counting down the days until I can come home. I think this was the final straw, how long I was delayed this time.”  
“Well, it’s up to you,” Lance shrugged, “If you’re sure you want to stop, stop.”

Keith nodded, grabbing Lance’s hand and fiddling with his fingers.  
“There’s something else too,” he said, biting his lip.  
“Yeah?” Lance asked.  
Keith let out a long breath, squeezing his hand softly.  
“I want a baby.”  
A pause.  
“What?”  
“I want to start a family,” Keith said, tilting his head back.  
Lance made a slightly surprised nose.  
“What brought this on?”  
Keith looked down, long hair blocking his face as it began to burn.  
“I’ve always wanted a big family, but I never thought I’d be able too. Now, with you, I want to. I want a family with you. I think we’re mature enough now to manage, we have a house, stable jobs, a strange thing where we go to space every two years,” he said, tucking one knee up to his chest, “I think we’re ready, I think _I’m_ ready if you are.”

There was another long pause, before Lance reached out to tun Keith to face him. Hand moving to cup Keith’s cheeks, tilting his head up to look at him. His eyes flicked over Keith’s face, scanning, searching for something. A smile broke across his face, before he lent forwards and pressed a kiss to the bridge of his nose.  
“You want a baby?”  
Keith nodded.  
“You want to start a family?”  
Keith nodded again.  
“Ok then,” Lance smiled, “Ok, lets do it.”  
“Yeah?” Keith grinned.  
“Yeah,” Lance confirmed, before swooping in for a proper kiss.


	2. Heats/Ruts

_Males, regardless of secondary sex, tend to have the most trouble getting pregnant. This normally makes such a small difference it is hardly noticeable, although it may take one or two more heats than normal for male omegas to conceive. It usually takes anything between one and three heats for an omega to become pregnant. More than this can also be considered normal, only after six heats without conception is cause for concern._

Keith glowered at the small stick in his hand, the small stick that had personally offended him. How dare it. Sighing, Keith flung the small stick into the bin before moving to wash his hands. Stupid thing. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Keith let out a long breath. It wasn’t the stupid stick's fault he was not pregnant.

Keith grumbled slightly as he stepped out of the bathroom, letting out a long breath and staring at the ceiling. Lance was at work, the house was spotless and Keith needed to do something.  
“Cosmo, here,” Keith called.  
A flash and the wolf appeared at his feet, tail thumping and tongue hanging out. Technically, Keith didn’t need to take Cosmo out for walks, they lived out in the middle of nowhere and he was smart enough to not wander too far. Keith needed to get out though, and he could do with the company.

He stepped out onto the porch, Cosmo dutifully by his heels. The tide was in, waves crashing and tumbling over each other. Keith took a deep breath of salty air, before making his way down the beach to the sea. The ocean seemed to have this incredible ability to calm Lance down, maybe it would work for him. Cosmo ran ahead of him, digging and rolling in the sand.  
“It’s not like you don’t come here every day,” Keith chuckled.

They finally reached the water, Cosmo sprinting on a head before jumping. He teleported just before he hit the water, further away before splashing in. He began to paddle around happily, back to shore, before spinning around and immediately sprinting and jumping into the water again. Keith smiled at the wolf’s antics, sitting himself down on the sand to watch.

Now was probably not the best time to get pregnant he supposed, after all, they were going back up into space in a month and no doubt, Lance would have made him stay on earth. They’d also only been through two heats without birth control and the first heat after coming off suppressants was pretty much a write off fertility was normally so low. Yeah, it was probably nothing, he was overreacting.

****

“Honey! I’m home!” Lance called from the hallway.  
Keith rolled his eyes, tapping lightly on his tablet.  
“Living room,” Keith called back.  
Cosmo’s tail began to thump against the sofa, head picking up.  
“Hey,” Lance smiled, draping his arms over Keith’s shoulders.  
Keith smiled lightly, reaching up to rest his hand on Lance’s arm. Closing his eyes, Keith lent back against Lance’s chest.  
“Hi,” he said, “Good day?”  
Lance hummed, kissing the top of Keith’s head.  
“Really good,” he nodded, before nuzzling Keith’s hair, “They’re all doing so well, you wouldn’t believe how much they’ve come on.”  
“I would,” Keith said, “You’re a fantastic teacher.”  
Lance made a noise, an excited squeal and he began to wriggle. Keith rolled his eyes, pushing Lance away.

Lance nosed under Keith’s ear, before slipping down his neck. Keith chirruped softly, baring his neck a bit more.  
“The test was negative,” Keith said softly.  
Lance let out a huff of breath, shaking his head.  
“Keith, we’ve only tried twice,” he said.  
“I know,” Keith said, huffing, “I know.”  
“You can’t rush these things,” Lance said, in that voice he knew irritated Keith to no end.  
Ass.  
“Shut up,” Keith grumbled, blindly whacking where he thought Lance was.  
He wasn’t there.  
“Sorry,” Lance laughed, “I’m excited too, but seriously…twice.”  
Keith huffed, but a light smile spread across his face.  
“Shut up,” he said.

Lance pressed a kiss to Keith’s neck, pulling back with a groan.  
“Don’t worry, once we get back we can keep…”  
“Get back?” Keith asked, tucking his knees up to his chest.  
Ok, he had to be smart about this, very smart about this.  
“Yeah from space, duh,” Lance laughed, “What, did you forget we were going back up.”  
Keith hummed, “No, I didn’t forget.”  
Lance frowned for a moment, Keith realised the second he got it as his frowned deepened. Keith was determined though.  
“Keith,” Lance said, slightly pained.  
“Well, we’re going to be going into space anyway, may as well get started early,” Keith shrugged.  
Lance groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
“There’s starting early, then there’s putting your pregnant mate in danger,” he said.

Keith hummed, crawling over the sofa to lean against Lance’s side.  
“You know we’re more figureheads now, there’s very little danger involved,” Keith said, “I won’t go on dangerous missions, I promise.”  
Lance shot him that look, the very clearly not believing him look. Keith was mildly offended, he’d mellowed out a lot since being a teenager…since being eighteen…since…the details weren’t important. Keith knew he’d be able to do it, to say on the side lines…probably.  
“Look, the castle has the best medical facilities you can get, many omegas would kill for the chance to use them. I swear not to do anything crazy and to remain on the castle when we are not 100% sure it is safe,” Keith said.

Lance looked conflicted, Keith gently tugged his arm, wrapping it around his waist.  
“You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?” he said.  
Keith nodded, stretching and pressing a kiss to Lance’s neck.  
“If you really think it’s a bad idea,” he said, tilting his head to one side.  
“I just want you to be ok,” Lance sighed.  
“I can look after myself,” Keith rolled his eyes, poking Lance in the side, “I’ll be fine, it might not even happen, you know space messes with my heat cycle.”  
Lance grumbled softly, but Keith knew he had won him over.  
“Well,” Keith said, smiling, “As the leader of Voltron…”  
Lance broke out laughing, resting his hand over Keith’s face and shoving him away playfully.  
“Don’t pull rank on me, jackass!” he said, prodding Keith in the side.  
Laughing, he slipped out of Lance’s arm, standing up with a stretch.  
“I’ll get started on dinner then,” he said.  
“You’ve already convinced me, no need to butter me up!”

****

Keith lent against his hover bike, looking out at the sunset over the desert.    
“It’s not changed much,” Shiro said from beside him, eyes slipping closed.  
Keith hummed in affirmation, smiling slightly.  
“Yeah,” he said, “Still the same old planet.”  
Shiro was smiling at him and Keith could only ignore his smug look for so long.  
“What?” Keith grumbled, frowning at him.  
“Nothing,” Shiro replied.  
Rolling his eyes, Keith punched him in the arm. Shiro laughed, rubbing his shoulder.  
“Ow, geez, careful, I only have one of those,” Shiro said, rubbing his shoulder.  
“I barely tapped you,” Keith replied, crossing his arms, “Come on, what?”

Shiro smiled again, looking back out over the sunset.  
“You know, I remember standing out here with someone who couldn’t wait to get away from Earth,” Shiro said, “Someone who decided once he went into space there’d be no point him coming back.”  
Keith snorted, raising his eyebrows at Shiro.  
“What?” Shiro asked, smiling innocently.  
Shaking his head, Keith looked back out at the sunset.  
“I hear you’ve given up taking up off-planet contracts,” Shiro said.  
Keith shrugged, “I missed home, I missed Lance…and I realised I missed those things more than I missed space.”  
“Awh,” Shiro said.  
“Shut up,” Keith grumbled, but there was a slight smile on his face.  
“It’s good,” Shiro said, “I’m glad you’re happy.”

Keith nodded, closing his eyes.  
“Me and Lance are thinking about starting a family,” he said, “Well…no, we’re trying to start a family.”  
Opening his eyes again, he looked over at Shiro, who’s jaw had dropped open.  
“I thought I’d better let you know in case something happens while I’m away,” Keith said, fighting back his laughter.  
“I’m going to be an uncle?” Shiro said, sounding slightly breathless.  
“At some point,” Keith said, “Might not happen while we’re away, or even for a while…I just wanted to tell you…don’t you dare cry!”  
Shiro sniffed slightly, “Sorry, I’m just excited!”  
“Nothing’s even happened yet!” Keith laughed, “You’re jumping the gun a bit.”  
“Sorry,” Shiro laughed, “I just, who’s have thought we’d end up here?”  
Keith smiled and nodded, yeah, who would’ve thought.

****

Just because they were semi-retired, didn’t mean they could let themselves drop their game. You never knew when something would pop up. That, and Keith still often had a bit of restless energy, he needed to get rid of it somehow. Being in pre-heat really didn’t help with the whole restless energy thing, he needed to get rid of it so he didn’t snap at anyone by mistake. It was fine when it was one of his pack, all he got from that was a bit of guilt…made worse by the fact everyone was so accommodating and understanding. Except Pidge, but at least she had the good grace to wait until his heat was over to enact her revenge.

Swinging his leg around, Keith brought the training bot to the ground. He panted, wiping his forehead. His muscles were aching pleasantly, distracting him slightly from the pre-heat aches that had set in an hour before. Keith didn’t know if it was the lack of suppressants meaning he was now on a completely natural cycle, or he was just getting used to it, but the preheat did not seem as intense as normal. They were heading down to a planet tomorrow, one of the members of the coalition Keith couldn’t remember the name of. Whatever it was, Keith had debating whether or not to go…he’d probably be fine, at least for a couple of days.

Keith stepped out of their shower, to Lance relaxing back on their bed. Padding over, Keith collapsed beside him, making a soft slightly distressed noise.  
“You sure you’ll be alright for tomorrow?” Lance asked.  
Keith nodded, letting out a huff of breath.  
“They’ll be disappointed if I don’t go,” Keith said, “Then be doubly disappointed because you won’t go without me….and then you’ll moan that you feel guilty for not going, but if you go you’ll moan about feeling guilty for not staying with me even though I’m an adult and perfectly capable of looking after myself.”  
Lance pouted and Keith kissed him on the cheek to show he wasn’t really that bothered.  
“I’ll be fine,” Keith assured, “It’s not too bad.”

Everything went off without a hitch and Keith was right, he was perfectly fine.

****

Keith nosed at the pillow beneath his head, making a few chirruping noises. Lance was not in their nest at the moment, Keith couldn’t exactly remember why. It didn’t matter though, his alpha always came back, all he had to do was wait. Stretching himself out, Keith winced slightly. He was sore, with things he’d rather not think about covering his lower half and belly. He was just out of it enough that it didn’t really matter, but Keith hadn’t fallen into his next wave yet.

The door slid open and Keith’s head snapped up, but it was just Lance. Keith relaxed back into his nest, looking up and spreading himself out as best he could, trying to show himself off.  
“Nuh uh,” Lance said, shaking his head, “Not right now, you need food, water and I need to clean you up.”  
Keith huffed, hooding his eyes and looking up at Lance.  
“Nope,” he said, making his way over, “Even if I wanted to, I can’t. I’m here to look after you too.”  
“Fine,” Keith sighed, holding out his arm.  
Rolling his eyes, Lance got to work.

To be fair, after his skin was cleaned of sweat and…other bodily fluids and he’d been fed and given water…Keith did feel a lot better. Lance tucked himself in the nest beside Keith, wrapping an arm around him.  
“You feeling alright?” Lance asked, rubbing up and down Keith’s side.  
With a hum, Keith nodded, burrowing his nose into Lance’s neck.  
“Get some rest,” Lance said.  
Keith curled up closer, obediently closing his eyes.

****

Keith woke up with a warmth under his skin, less intense than it had been right at the start of his heat. He was still relaxed and horny though and he wasn’t going to miss out on any chances though. Rolling slightly so he was literally laid on top of Lance, Keith began to nose under his jaw. He nipped slightly at the soft skin there, tilting his chin up, Keith nipped Lance’s earlobe.  
“Lance,” he said, “Lance…wake up.”  
He began to rut against Lance’s leg, rapidly hardening as his skin began to prickle with heat. Keith continued to mouth at Lance’s neck, nipping lightly at the scent gland there. Lance stirred, eyes fluttering open with a groan.  
“Hey,” he said softly.

Keith rolled back into the nest, stretching out lazily.  
“You said you’d pup me,” he said, smiling, “Now get over here.”  
Lance snorted softly, “Ok bossy.”  
Lance pressed their lips together, Keith made a pleasured noise. Lance’s arm curled around the small of Keith’s back, his other hand knotting in his hair.  
“I love you,” Lance said, “I love you so much.”  
Keith felt his eyes fill with tears, a few sneaky ones escaping from his eyes. Lance smiled, pressing kisses to Keith’s cheeks…well tear tracks.  
“I hate you,” Keith grumbled, “You know I get emotional, you ass.”  
Lance laughed, pressing their lips together again.

It was all much, much more gentle than at the start of Keith’s heat. There wasn’t the same urgency, Keith could still feel the heat rolling under his skin and burning in the back of his mind. He needed to get fucked, but it wasn’t urgent. Lance’s hands were roaming across his body, sending sparks across his skin. They dipped lower until they were grasping his ass, giving it a firm squeeze. Lance’s fingers dipped down to prod experimentally at his hole, it was still loose from earlier fucking and knotting.

Making a soft noise, Keith began to shuffle around, moving to lay on his front. Tucking his knees underneath him, Keith pushed his hips up.  
“Keith,” Lance said.  
He shifted over, laying across Keith’s back. The omega shuddered as he was covered and surrounded by Lance’s scent. To Keith’s surprise, Lance shifted his hair to one side before sinking his teeth down back over his bond mark. Keith yelped, but it dissolved into a moan as Lance sunk into him.

Pleasure sparked through him, a shudder running up his spine. Lance remained still, pressed deep inside Keith.  
“Lance, Lance move,” Keith gasped, turning his head from where it was buried in the pillows.  
Lance released the gland on the back of Keith’s neck, kneeling back up. His hands gripped tightly on Keith’s hips before beginning to thrust. Any semblance of control left Keith in an instant, all his muscles giving out with only Lance’s iron grip keeping his hips up. Frankly, at this point, Keith didn’t really care. Opening his mouth, Keith moaned and cried out.

It didn’t take long to bring Keith to the edge, shaking moaning and shouting. Until finally, with a scream, he came. Lance groaned as Keith clenched down on him, a few more powerful thrusts before burying himself deep inside Keith as his knot expanded. Keith moaned through another mini orgasm as Lance’s knot locked them together and he came.

Lance very carefully lay them down on their side, pressed flush together to prevent any uncomfortable pulling. Keith made a soft contented noise, pressing back as far as he could.  
“I love you,” Keith said quietly, “I love you so damn much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so as you can probably tell, this story is a little different from my other ones...it's going to be much longer! I don't know when I'm going to update this but I will at the very least try to update either once a week or once a fortnight depending on how my life is going...I do have a project I need to finish so should probably be doing that so there probably won't be anything next week.
> 
> Suffering from allergies when your cat has for some reason decided to start moulting in January is...not fun! Or it might be a cold...runny/blocked nose is difficult to diagnose. I...don't know what else to put...so...yeah...
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!


	3. Nesting

_Actual pregnancy diagnosis is difficult, especially if it is unexpected or unplanned. Omegas will notice their heat cycle stopping however, this will only happen after three months and heats can be stopped or delayed by many different things, not just pregnancy. Betas and alphas have no such tell, along with the only signs of pregnancy being very similar to a simple illness, it can take some time for a pregnancy to be diagnosed._

 

Keith was in a bad mood and he was trying his damn hardest to not take it out on these random aliens, but really, it was getting close. Taking a deep breath, Keith closed his eyes for a few seconds.  It was fine, their planet was about to be destroyed by the sun going red giant soon, they were allowed to be a bit upset and unreasonable. Keith was just tired, and his instincts were going a bit haywire because Lance wasn’t there, it was fine.

The pleduians were…kind of creepy looking. They were very tall and slender, with creepily long fingers and six sets of eyes. They reminded Keith a little bit of spiders, but with much skinner bodies. They were, mostly incredibly nice though. There were a few awkward people, mostly being too demanding or saying repeatedly they could do this themselves, why did they need to ask Voltron?

“Here’s the…I don’t know what?” Keith said, glancing down at the bulky, but surprisingly light box he was carrying.  
Hunk glanced up from whatever he was doing, smiling brightly.  
“Just put it there, I’ll sort it,” he said, before frowning slightly, “Are you alright?”  
Keith dropped it on the pile, before rubbing his eye.  
“Yeah,” he said, “I’m just a bit tired.”  
Hunk’s frown deepened slightly, “Are you sure? You’re looking a bit…peaky..”  
“Hunk, I’m fine,” Keith sighed, “I just didn’t sleep all that well last night.”  
“Well, I’m sure Allura will let you off for a bit if you’re feeling unwell,” Hunk said, nodding seriously.  
“I feel fine Hunk, I’m just tired,” Keith smiled lightly, “We need all the hands we can get anyway.”  
“Ok,” Hunk nodded, “Just, if you’re feeling unwell, take a break, we don’t want a repeat of last time.”  
Keith rolled his eyes, “That, wasn’t my fault.”

Lance was away on a different planet, not all that far away from where they were…in the grand scheme of things. Another small planet had suffered from a quake, causing about four of their major cities to collapse. With this planet they were currently on also in danger and frankly, needing more of them. So him and Allura had agreed to send Lance, alone, Keith was starting to regret his decision. It was ok though, Keith would get over it and just get on.

****

Keith jerked awake to hammering on the door, rubbing his eye he blinked sleepily. He was still fully clothed, in a hastily thrown together nest. Glancing at the clock, it was dinner time…two hours after he’d entered the room. Geez, he’d been more tired than he thought.

Padding over to the door, he hadn’t even taken his shoes off, Lance would have his head, Keith hit the button to open the door.  
“Dinner’s ready,” Pidge said, muffled because her shirt was over her mouth and nose, “Hunk said you weren’t feeling very well.”  
“I’m just tired, no big deal,” Keith shrugged.  
He was feeling a little nauseous, but he’d skipped lunch so that wasn’t so strange.  
“Are you sure,” Pidge said, frowning suspiciously.  
“Yes, I’m just tired,” Keith sighed, “And I’m hungry, so let's go.”  
“We just don’t want a repeat of last time,” she said, stepping back to allow him to step out.  
“That wasn’t my fault and don’t worry…it won’t be,” Keith rolled his eyes, “I just need to get some more sleep.”  
Pidge squinted at him suspiciously, before letting her shirt fall back off her face.

Keith sniffed the air slightly as he stepped into the dining room, stomach rumbling.  
“He was napping,” Pidge said.  
“Are you getting sick?” Allura asked.  
“I can check the archives to see if there’s any information on the diseases on this planet,” Coran said brightly.  
Keith rolled his eyes, sitting down.  
“No, I’m fine, just tired, I didn’t sleep that well,” he said.  
“Alright, just…” Allura stared.  
“I’ll let you know,” Keith snapped, before sighing, “Sorry, I just…sorry.”

Allura raised her eyebrows, not happy with his outburst.  
“That pleduian you were working with was a right piece of work,” Pidge said suddenly, “I’m surprised you didn’t bite her head off.”  
Keith shot her a grateful look, he didn’t know if that was why he was so on edge. It was a good enough excuse though, he did feel bad.  
Allura let out a long breath.  
“If you feel ill tomorrow let us know, it might be better for you to stay on the ship while we finish up.”  
“I’ll be fine,” Keith said, "I just need sleep.”  
Allura seemed fine with that and they returned to eating.

****

Keith was fine when he woke up the next morning, after calling Lance that night he was feeling better and slept pretty well. As the day went on though, he began to feel worse and worse. It was hard work, but he should not be this tired. His instincts were going a little haywire too, he just wanted to nest and sleep. There wasn’t much longer though, so he’d just keep going until dinner.

“You look exhausted,” Pidge said in leu of a greeting, “Are you sure you’re not sick?”  
“I might be,” Keith said, “I’m starting to think it’s likely.”  
Pidge practically jumped back, throwing her shirt over her nose.  
“No way! You are not getting me sick again!”  
“That was not my fault!” Keith protested.  
She squinted suspiciously, before taking another big step back.

“What’s going on?” Hunk asked, glancing between the two of them.  
“Keith is sick,” Pidge said.  
“I might be,” Keith sighed.  
Hunk looked concerned, before resting his hand on Keith’s forehead. Automatically Keith jerked back slightly, but didn’t move away too far.  
“Well, you don’t have a temperature,” Hunk said.  
“Maybe I’m just tired?” Keith groaned, rubbing his eyes, “But I slept fine last night.”  
Wait a second…tired…instincts going haywire…he’d been a bit more snappish than usual…how long had it been…  
“Oh,” Keith said, “Oh, oh!”  
He sprinted away from the two of them, leaving them completely confused. Keith didn’t really care though, he had something more important to do.

Three pregnancy tests, three positive pregnancy tests. They were going to have a baby.  
“Oh,” Keith said, staggering back a step, “Oh my god.”  
Keith melted onto the bathroom floor, covering his face with his hands. He had the biggest grin on his face, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. He was elated, Keith was practically floating. A loud knocking on the bedroom door made him jump, banging his elbow on the toilet with a pained grunt.  
“You’re not dead in there right?” Pidge shouted.  
“Oh god is it bad?” Hunk said, “Is it really bad?”  
Keith laughed, resting his hand over his stomach.  
“No, no, it’s fine,” he said, “I just, I’m not sick.”  
“Are you sure?” Hunk asked, clearly worried, “I can go ask Coran to come and check on you?”  
“No, no, seriously I’m fine,” Keith replied, standing up.

He needed to tell Lance, Lance before anyone else. He couldn’t just call up and tell him though, he probably wouldn’t be able to actually get him on the line…he wanted to do this face to face. Keeping it from Hunk and Pidge would be difficult though, he only had to do it until tomorrow. Tossing the tests in the bin, Keith washed his hands and made his way to the bedroom door.  
“I’m fine, it was nothing,” Keith shrugged, “Don’t worry, I’m alright.”  
Pidge frowned suspiciously at him, humming. Keith didn’t glare at her, he knew that wouldn’t work, instead he shot her a pleading look. She raised an eyebrow but dropped it. Hunk just look relieved, crushing Keith into a hug. Ok, he could keep it a secret for that long.

****

They met up with Lance next lunchtime on the planet they were evacuating the people too, he didn’t even bother announcing himself, just strolling into the dining room and asking for lunch. Keith didn’t think he’d ever moved so fast, practically sprinting across the room to bury his face in Lance’s neck with a happy chirrup. Lance hummed, resting his hands on Keith’s waist, nuzzling the top of his head.

“I missed you,” Lance said softly, Keith could hear the exhaustion in his voice.  
Pulling away from their hug Keith lightly cupped Lance’s face, eyes flicking over his face. Although it didn’t flair up quite as often, Lance did suffer from insomnia, especially if there’s a change in his sleeping routine. Leaning forwards, Keith pressed their lips together with a hum.  
“I missed you too,” Keith said.  
Lance smiled, resting their foreheads together.

Everyone was eating their lunch and chatting, likely waiting for their turn to greet Lance. Linking their fingers together, Keith tugged Lance over to the table, making him sit down while he grabbed some of whatever Hunk had cooked up for them. Lance burst into laughter as Keith made his way back, placing the plate in front of him. Lance shot him a smile before returning to the conversation, tucking into the food. Keith smiled, squeezing their linked hands lightly before letting it go.

****

The day had been long, very long. Partially because the planet had a very slow rotation and partially because Keith had been bursting to tell Lance the big news. He wasn’t going to do it anywhere he could be overheard though. Basically meaning he had to go through the entirety of the afternoon’s work, and dinner while keeping his mouth shut. Finally, finally they made it back to their room.

Keith settled back in the nest, making a soft contented noise. Lance was in the bathroom doing…whatever he did to make his skin so damn shiny and soft. Curling his toes, Keith stretched out in the sheets and blankets.

The door slid open and Keith smiled, looking over to the door as Lance emerged from the bathroom. A huge grin spread across his face and Lance broke into a run, launching himself at the bed. Keith laughed as Lance hit the bed, causing it to bounce slightly. His arms latched around Keith’s waist, nuzzling at his neck. Curling his arm around Lance’s shoulders, Keith pulled him into a long kiss. Lance’s fingers knotted in Keith’s hair, his other curling tightly around his waist, pulling the omega right against him. Keith made a chirruping sound, pulling back a bit to rub their noses together.

“Lance, I have something to tell you,” Keith said, shifting away slightly.  
Lance ducked down, pressing kisses up and down his neck. Keith hummed happily, tilting his head back with a rumble.  
“Wait, wait,” Keith laughed, “Lance, Lance get off me for a second.”  
Lance looked up from his place sucking a hickey on Keith’s neck. Cupping Lance’s face, Keith pulled him up so they were nose-to-nose.  
“Lance,” Keith said softly, “Lance, you’re going to be a papa.”  
Lance blinked, clearly not getting it.  
“Lance, I’m pregnant, we’re going to be parents,” Keith said, smiling.

There was a long pause, before Lance made a sound Keith was pretty sure he’s never hear again. It was a mixture of a squeak and a squeal while sounding slightly strangled.”  
“You’re….we’re…” Lance said, “Oh my god.”  
He was smiling, eyes filling with tears.  
“Oh my god,” Lance said again, “Oh my god.”  
Keith was crushed into a surprise hug, making him laugh.  
“I love you, oh god, I love you so much,” Lance sobbed softly.  
“I love you too,” Keith said, his own eyes starting to fill with tears.

Laughing softly through his tears, Keith pulled Lance forwards to press kisses to the tear tracks running down his face.  
“You alright?” he asked, pecking the end of Lance’s nose to make it screw up adorably.  
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he replied.  
“I asked first,” Keith said, pulling Lance to his chest, “You looked exhausted.”  
“That’s what you want to talk about?” Lance said, burrowing closer.  
“Yeah, I worry about you,” Keith replied.  
Lance burst out laughing, looking up at him through his eyelashes.  
“I’m fine, but I feel like I’m walking on air, how long have you known?”  
Lance’s hands travelled from resting on Keith’s back, to his stomach.

“I found out yesterday,” Keith said softly, “I was feeling a bit off.”  
Lance made a happy noise.  
“I’m surprised you manage to keep it a secret for that long,” he said.  
Keith laughed, “So am I.”  
He rested his own hands on top of Lance’s.  
“Our pup Keith,” Lance said softly, eyes shining with wonder.  
“Yes Lance.”  
“We’re having a baby.”  
“Yes Lance.”  
“Ours, it’s going to be our baby.”  
“Yes Lance.”  
“Keith!”  
“Yes Lance,” Keith laughed, cupping his cheeks, “Yes Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, ok, so I got this done much sooner than I thought...I am very surprised!  
> Keith took a while to figure out what was going on...just a bit...just a lot...seriously boy needs a break.
> 
> I don't have any text-book style text to start this one off with...because I couldn't think of one and I don't know if anyone actually reads/cares about them (this is the part where I get a load of comments saying I do!) If you guys are desperate for one let me know and I'll try to think something up and add it in later...so I came up with one...for those couple of people who said they wanted one...this is for you guys...
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated...thanks for reading.


	4. Growling

_All members of a pack will immediately become more protective over the pregnant member(s), especially the other parent of the pup and the leader of the pack. This will often manifest by the members sticking close together, and an increased amount of displeased noises such as growling, shrilling and crying. Although the exact mechanisms are unknown, a healthy pack dynamic and mate relationship is important during gestation._

Keith hated waking up alone, sometimes it was a necessity. At the moment though, Keith was a bit more sensitive to it. So when he woke up alone, Keith couldn’t help but shiver and curl up tighter with an unhappy grumble. Where the hell was Lance and why wasn’t he snuggling up to Keith currently. This pregnancy was starting to wear on him a little, just…exhaustion with a slight hint of morning sickness. It wasn’t too bad, or at least that’s what Keith kept telling himself. Groaning slightly, Keith curled his arm tightly around Cosmo who was laid at his front.

The door slid open, Keith tilted his head back to see Lance making his way in with a glass of water. Well that explains where he went. Rolling back and settling back into bed, Keith made a soft noise. Cosmo shifted slightly, perking his head up to see who had entered the room. Lance set his glass on the side table with a light clink, slipping back into bed and pressing up against Keith’s back. Keith made a soft noise, voicing his displeasure at Lance leaving.  
“I was gone for all of five minutes,” Lance sighed softly.  
“Too long,” Keith moaned softly, pressing back against Lance.  
Lance snorted, pressing his face into the back of Keith’s neck.  
“Go back to sleep,” he said, arm draped lazily over Keith’s waist.

Keith chirruped softly, tilting his head back a little.  
“Don’t we need to get up soon?” he murmured.  
“No,” Lance said, sliding his leg between Keith’s.  
Keith smiled, intertwining their fingers.  
“Don’t blame me if Allura complains you’re late,” he said.  
Lance hummed, clearly half way back to sleep. Keith huffed out a slight laugh, lifting one of Lance’s hands to press a kiss to the palm.

****

“Are you sure this is safe?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.  
“Perfectly!” Coran said brightly, “It’s not like you’ve not been under this thing before!”  
“Yeah,” Keith said hesitantly.  
“Unborn pups are more delicate than adults,” Lance said, “We’re just a little worried.”  
Coran wafted his hand, “It’ll be perfectly alright, now lay yourself down.”  
Keith glanced at Lance, who gave a half-shrug. Honestly, Coran was normally pretty good with this sort of thing. So, with the slight reassurance it was probably fine, Keith hopped up onto the bed and lay down.

The scanner in the new castle ship was just about the most advanced thing you could get, anywhere. It could show you a full 3D picture of your entire body in minutes, rather useful for situations like this. The scanner made a whirring sound, clicking lightly before sliding up and down over Keith’s body. He tried to keep as still as possible, even though it wasn’t entirely necessary. Eventually the scanner settled over his stomach, bleeping lightly. Lance darted from his place beside Keith to beside Coran.

“Alright,” Coran said, “Let me just.”  
He tapped a couple of things on the screen in front of him, when Keith heard a sound. There was a loud thundering sound of a heartbeat, Coran tapped lightly on the screen and a much quieter heartbeat began to sound. He lightly tapped a few more times and a screen popped up. There wasn’t really much to see…but.  
“Look at that,” Lance breathed, “That’s our little blob Keith.”  
Keith burst out laughing, his eyes burning slightly.  
“You can’t call them that,” he said.  
“But look,” Lance said, gesturing, “They’re just a little blob, so tiny.”  
Keith couldn’t help his smile from getting bigger, reaching out his hand.

Lance moved over, linking their hands and allowing Keith to pull him down. Catching Lance’s face between his hands, Keith pressed their lips together. Making a happy noise, Lance nosed at Keith’s cheek.  
“Our little one,” Keith said softly.  
Coran sniffled in the background, making Keith jolt slightly, honestly he’d forgotten he was there.  
“Congratulations you two,” Coran smiled brightly, “This is ever so exciting.”  
“Yeah Coran, until we tell our parents, can we not announce it to the universe? Just yet?” Lance said.  
Oh god, they’d have to tell everyone in the coalition about the baby, which means it would probably spread across the universe. After all, they were the child of two of the paladins of Voltron.  
“Of course, you just let us know when you’re ready,” he said.  
Lance nodded, wrapping his arms around Keith’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to his temple.

****

Cosmo shuffled by Keith’s feet, tail thumping against the floor in excitement. He rested his hand firmly on the wolves head, stopping Cosmo from teleporting right into the shuttle bay. It hadn’t happened yet, but it didn’t stop Keith from worrying on occasion.

There was a rumble as the airlock closed, followed by a hiss as the hanger door opened. The ship that drifted in was a strange mixture of galra, human and altean technology, glowing slightly before settling in place. Keith smiled lightly as the door in front of him hissed open, watching as Cosmo bolted ahead. The door slid open and Krolia stepped out, smiling as Cosmo jumped up at her. She crouched down, ruffling the fur on his neck. Keith let out a long breath, before stepping into the room.

Keith was still a bit confused on what his mum really was to him. She was in his life, had been for years now. They had contact and she came and visited, but there was still a little bit of hesitance there, but he was certainly going to share the news with her.  
“Hello Keith,” she said, smiling lightly up at him, “I see Cosmo’s grown again.”  
Keith chuckled lightly, “Yeah, I worry he’ll get too big for the house soon.”  
Cosmo was glancing between them, tongue hanging out with what looked like a big smile on his face.  
“Come on,” Keith said, “Let’s go sit down, how long do you think you’ll be staying?”  
“A couple of days,” she said, “I really need to catch up.”  
Keith smiled and nodded, “Allura said you were staying in the same room as before.”  
“Perfect,” she said, pulling a bag out of the ship.  
He’d give her a bit of time to settle, then tell her. No need to rush these things.

****

Keith did a double take as he stepped into the living room, frowning slightly at Lance sat on one of the sofas. He was staring down at his hands, wetness on his cheeks.  
“Lance?” Keith called gently, stepping into the room, “Lance? What’s wrong?”  
Lance glanced up, eyes bloodshot and still a little watery. Keith took several striding steps across to kneel in front of Lance, pulling him into a hug.  
“What’s wrong?” Keith asked softly.  
“I…” Lance started.  
The door slid open and Lance and Keith’s heads snapped up. Krolia stood in the doorway with Cosmo by her feet, she was sort of staring at the two of them, looking a bit awkward.  
“Um,” she said.  
“No, it’s alright,” Lance said, standing up, “You two should talk.”

Lance practically sprinted for the door, Cosmo making a soft confused noise before scrambling after him. Keith froze for a second, before taking after Lance after a quick apology to his mum. He caught up to Lance pretty easily around the next corner, grabbing his arm and pulling the alpha back.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Keith asked, quickly cupping Lance’s face to stop him looking away.  
“It’s nothing,” Lance said.  
“Lance,” Keith said softly, “Come on.”  
“It’s nothing Keith, don’t worry about it. It’s stupid,” Lance said, trying to pull away, “I’ll be fine.”  
“Lance,” Keith murmured, “Lance, talk to me.”

There was another long pause and Keith thought he was going to be denied again, but Lance sighed, resting their foreheads together.  
“I recorded a message for my family,” Lance said, “And it just hit me, I really wished I could tell them all in person you know? Or at the very least, not through a message…And they’re going to miss out on the first few weeks…I don’t know…”  
Keith frowned, leaning forwards to peck his lips lightly.  
“Do you want to go back?” Keith asked, “Back to Earth?”  
Lance huffed out a breath, “No, I couldn’t let everyone down like that. They’d all be so disappointed.”  
“Lance, don’t make other people happy if it’s going to make you miserable,” Keith said, “We talked about this.”  
“It’s fine Keith,” Lance said, smiling weakly, “I just…I just need to lie down for a bit, go, go talk to your mum.”  
“Lance…”  
“It’s fine, Keith,” Lance smiled, “Go talk to her.”

Lance walked away, Cosmo trotting happily at his heels. Keith watched as he went, still a bit unsure if he should follow Lance or not. He decided to trust Lance on this one and just let him sort it through himself, offer comfort after, if he still needed it. Letting out a long breath, Keith turned and headed back to the living room.

Krolia was sat on one of the sofas, her head snapping up when Keith walked in.  
“What’s wrong?” she asked.  
Keith let out a long breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
“He’s just, missing his family,” Keith sighed, dropping down to sit beside her.  
Krolia nodded, looking down at her hands.  
“It must be rough, being in space without them,” she said thoughtfully, “I should really go visit his family again.”  
Keith nodded, looking down at his hands with a light smile. It had been a bit of a surprise how well his mother and Lance’s family had gotten along, especially the children. They seemed to be fascinated with her and she seemed to be happy to entertain them.

Silence fell again, but it was a comfortable one. Keith just needed time to mull over what he was going to say, probably best to just say it.  
“There was something else too,” Keith said, “Something important I need to tell you.”  
Krolia tilted her head curiously.  
“You’re going to be a grandmother,” Keith said.  
Krolia blinked, Keith waited for her to process what he had just said.  
“Grandmother?” she said, “I’m going to be a grandmother?”  
Keith nodded, “Yeah, me and Lance, we’re going to have a baby.”  
A brilliant smile spread across her face, one Keith had only seen twice. To his complete surprise, Keith was crushed to her chest in a tight hug. He stiffened for a second, before relaxing and wrapping his own arms around her.  
“Amazing,” she said, “Isn’t this just amazing.”

****

News of two of the paladins having a baby spread like wildfire across the universe, they only announced it on one planet and suddenly they were inundated with gifts, congratulations and invites to celebrations. It was, overwhelming but seemed to put everyone in very high spirits. Keith kind of wished Lance had said he wanted to go back to Earth, maybe then they could have at the very least some semblance of privacy.

Keith sighed, staring up at the ceiling as Lance lay sleeping peacefully beside him. They were heading down to another planet again today and Keith, didn’t really want to. The fact the locals didn’t bare live young just made the whole thing worse, it just meant the questioning was more intense and Keith ended up surrounded by a very enthusiastic crowd becoming more and more uncomfortable.

Keith’s hand shifted down to rest on his abdomen, over the slight swelling, too hard to be fat. His bump was easily disguisable under a baggy shirt and jacket, but it was there. Keith jumped slightly as another hand slipped up his shirt, resting warm on his skin. Keith smiled lightly, turning his head to look at a half-awake Lance.  
“Hey,” Lance croaked.  
Keith smiled, reaching out to rest a hand on his cheek.  
“You alright?” Lance asked, leaning his head into Keith’s hand.  
Keith nodded with a hum, eyes slipping half-closed as Lance’s thumb brushed over his bump.  
“Yeah, I’m just not in the mood to explain for the millionth time how I have a baby inside me,” Keith sighed, “They really don’t get it.”  
Lance nodded thoughtfully, leaning over to press a kiss to Keith’s cheek.  
“Stay close,” Keith said, curling his hand in Lance’s sleep shirt, “I don’t like it when you wander away.”  
Lance nodded, curling his arms around Keith and pulling him close.

****

Keith tensed and shifted slightly so he was about as close to Lance as he could possibly get under the circumstances. As he predicted, these aliens were prying far too much into the ins and outs of human breeding. It was really starting to make him uncomfortable, even Lance seemed a bit tense and he was normally pretty relaxed about explaining things without going into too much gross detail. But these ones, were prying far too much.

Lance was starting to grumble, trying to pull Keith out of the crowd. They were starting to get handsy, and considering they had six hands that was a lot. Lance was outright growling at this point, quietly, but enough that Keith had become very attentive to his movements. Every little shift, Keith mimicked, hands curled tightly in Lance’s formal shirt.

They finally made it to the edge of the crowd, Lance’s growl getting much louder, until another sound Keith had only heard a couple of times joined. A beta’s cry was a very different sound to an alpha’s growl, much more high pitched and sharp, but it had about the same effect. Keith’s head snapped around and all the aliens seemed to freeze. Hunk’s hands reached out from the edge, dragging the two of them back.  
“I’m sorry,” Allura called as Hunk tucked the two of them behind his back, “You’re crowding and it makes the black paladin uncomfortable.”  
Lance’s arms were tucked tightly around Keith, pressing him tightly to Lance’s chest. Honestly they were probably about as uncomfortable as each other.

The aliens were apologising profusely, but Keith had had enough of their probing questions. He dread to think what they’d be like if they could actually see his bump. Working together, Hunk and Lance enabled the two of them to slip out without too much more questioning.  
“You two alright?” Hunk asked, “Sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”  
Lance smiled lightly, “It’s alright, they were just getting a little bit too personal.”  
Keith snorted, “A little?”  
Hunk pulled a face, reaching out and patting Lance on the shoulder.  
“We’re going to sneak out,” Lance said.  
Hunk snorted, “It’s not sneaking out if we see  you leave.”  
Lance grinned, “Close enough!”

They made it back to the castle quick enough, Cosmo greeting them enthusiastically as they walked in. Keith dropped down to his knees to wrap his arms around Cosmo’s neck, burying his face in the thick fur.  
“Next time I’m taking you with me,” he groaned.  
Lance sighed, stretching and making his back crack.  
“Want to go lay down and watch a movie?” Lance asked, smiling lightly.  
Keith groaned, “You have, no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Early pregnancy fluff!...Tbh, this entire thing is just pure relationship fluff...my favourite kind...  
> If you're wondering what happened to Cosmo in the last chapter...it wasn't because I forgot him...certainly not...
> 
> I don't know how long the next chapter is going to be...it might be much longer than the rest of them...it might not...I didn't exactly plan this out perfectly but...whatever...close enough!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!


	5. Purring

_First time pregnancies and births tend to be the roughest, but this is most likely to do with inexperience. Omegas tend to have the easiest time, but this is not a hard and fast rule, it really does depend on the person. Purring often helps, the vibrations are supposed to help particularly with pain. It is not really known why, or if it is just a placebo effect. However, it is known that one member being pregnant often increases the likelihood other members of the pack will start purring, even if they never had before._

Keith couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the scene on the sofa. He’d been held back a bit after their mission to talk to Allura, but he didn’t think it’d been this long. Hunk was fast asleep on the sofa, head tilted back, feet on the ground as he snored. Lance was laid across the cushions, back against Hunk’s side as he slept. Pidge was curled up against Lance’s side, breaths puffing out softly in sleep.

Keith dropped down to sit beside them, one hand resting on Lance’s foot, the other resting on his distended belly. The door slipped open again and Allura and Coran stepped inside, both of them collapsing on the soft at the other side. Keith let his eyes slip closed, humming in contentment. These quiet moments after meetings were always the best. Everyone was quiet, there was nothing pressing happening. They made Keith glad Lance insisted on pack bonding all those times.

Keith was just about to drift off when he felt it, movement. Keith’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up, frowning slightly.  
“Keith?” Allura asked, concern clear in her voice, “Is something wrong?”  
“I,” Keith frowned, “I don’t think so, give me a moment.”  
There, another slight flutter. Keith moved his hand to rest where he though he felt the movement. Another few moments past when he felt a kick.  
“Oh my god,” Keith said softly.  
Allura and Coran were now both looking at him, clearly concerned.  
“The baby’s kicking,” Keith said, a bright grin spreading across his face.

Now they’d started, their pup didn’t seem to want to stop. The little one was shifting around, kicking out on occasion and pressing out their limbs. Keith moved quickly, reaching out to shake Lance’s shoulder.  
“Lance,” he whisper-shouted, “Lance, wake up!”  
Lance groaned, snuggling slightly closer to Hunk in protest.  
“Lance,” Keith grumbled, “Lance, come on.”  
“Hmm…Wha…?” Lance said, picking his head up and looking around confused.  
“Lance, the baby’s moving,” Keith said.  
There was a long pause as Lance processed, Keith couldn’t help a slight smile at Lance’s sleepy blinks. Suddenly, it finally seemed to sink in. Lance snapped to attention, sitting up, elbowing Hunk and practically throwing Pidge off him.  
“What?” Lance said, staring at Keith.  
“The baby’s moving,” Keith said.

Lance flung himself off the sofa, causing Pidge to groan.  
“He has a good reason,” Pidge hissed to herself, “He has a good reason.”  
Keith smiled as Lance scrambled inelegantly over to him, hands immediately going to Keith’s belly.  
“Hey little one,” Lance said softly, “Are you going to move for your papa?”  
Lance was rewarded with a kick, which made him squeal.  
“Oh, hello,” he said softly, “Yes, there you are.”  
Lance was laughing, eyes watering as he rested his cheek against Keith’s baby bump.  
“Keith,” Lance said, “Keith there’s a baby in there.”  
Keith laughed, tangling his hand in Lance’s hair.  
“You don’t say,” Keith said, “I would have never figured that out.”  
“Shut up,” Lance grumbled.

****

Their pup continued to grow and only became more and more active as time went on. Lance seemed incredibly happy with this development, he seemed to be completely unable to keep his hands off Keith at all. He also spent a lot of time talking to their pup, making them kick and roll with excitement. Keith was slightly, less comfortable with these changes. Don’t get him wrong, Keith loved being pregnant, he loved the thought that his and Lance’s pup was growing inside him. When he was alone, Keith couldn’t help but talk softly to the pup, rubbing lightly over where they kicked.

No, it was something else that was bothering him. He was getting restless, unable to do anything other than light exercise. This was starting to soften some of the once hard plains of his body, giving him the slightly more omegaish body type Keith had been trying to avoid. The bump was a little awkward too, the kicking and movement surprising him sometimes. These things though, were not the biggest issue Keith was having.

Having children, a mate of his own had always been a fantasy Keith had never thought he’d get. He was too strange, too broken. Now he was pregnant though, with a pup he could feel moving around inside him, could feel their weight. Keith was, a little terrified. He had no idea what sort of a parent he’d be, how the hell he was supposed to raise a kid? What if they didn’t like him? Lance seemed so happy and relaxed about it, he’d taken care of his nieces and nephews. How was Keith supposed to compare?

****

There was a long corridor on the new castle, it didn’t have any corners and not many people came down here. Keith didn’t really know what it was for, all he knew was it made a very good place to play fetch with Cosmo. Or well, their version of fetch that Cosmo still didn’t really seem to get. Keith would throw the ball, Cosmo would look confused and half-chase, half sort of stand there as it bounced off the opposite wall and back to Keith. Cosmo seemed to be enjoying himself though and it kept Keith’s mind preoccupied.

Eventually though, they both got bored. Keith, having not really thought this through, was sat on the floor and there was no way he was getting up easily. So Cosmo simply settled his head in the part of Keith’s lap that wasn’t taken up by baby bump, dozing happily. Keith lent back comfortably against the wall, resting his hand on Cosmo’s head and closing his eyes. Until he heard two sets of footsteps approaching.

“Lance?” Hunk’s voice said from just around the corner.  
Lance and Hunk were just around the corner, Keith and Cosmo being hidden by the wall. Keith could announce his presence, or he could be nosey and find out what they were talking about. Keith remained perfectly still, resting his hand over Cosmo’s muzzle to stop him making a noise. He was turning into Shiro apparently.

“Lance, are you, doing ok?” Hunk asked.  
“I’m fine,” Lance replied.  
“Yeah, ok, you can’t pull that one on me, come on dude,” Hunk said, “What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing’s wrong,” Lance said softly.  
There was a long pause, Keith bit his lip lightly. What. Keith hadn’t noticed there was anything wrong with Lance, although he was very good at hiding when something was wrong, if you didn’t know what to look for.  
“But?” Hunk prompted softly.  
“But feeling our pup moving? Makes it all so real,” Lance whispered.  
Keith froze, leaning over slightly so he could hear better.  
“I mean, I know Keith is pregnant and at the end of it were going to have a pup together, but, I don’t know…” Lance sighed, “I guess I’m just worried.”

Hunk let out a long breath, humming lightly.  
“Yeah, I can’t say I know what you’re going through,” Hunk said, “But you’re worried about being a father?”  
“What if I’m terrible at it?” Lance said, “What if I accidentally mess the kid up? Babysitting isn’t exactly the same as having your own you know…”  
“Yeah,” Hunk said, “But, it gave you some experience and you are, after all, the favourite.”  
“I guess?” Lance said hesitantly.

“Have you talked to Keith about this?” Hunk asked.  
Lance let out a long breath, “No, I don’t want to worry him.”  
“Lance,” Hunk sighed, but Lance cut him off.  
“Look, Keith’s worried about this too, I don’t want him worrying more…you know what happens when me and Keith get into a panic spiral,” Lance said, “I just, at the very least one of us needs to keep our heads.”  
“I still think you should talk to Keith,” Hunk said.

There was a bit of a debate on how intelligent Cosmo was. Sometimes he was smarter than some people Keith knew, seeming able to know were he and everyone else needed to be at any given moment. Sometimes, there really didn’t seem to be anything going on inside Cosmo’s head. So, at that moment, Keith had no idea if Cosmo actually understood what Hunk said, or if he’d just gotten bored of hearing Lance and Hunk talk without being able to say hello. Either way, he started barking, scrambling off Keith’s knee to run around the corner.

“Hey boy,” Lance said brightly, then was a pause and then, “Keith?”  
Keith froze, he could get up and run, but probably couldn’t get up in time for Lance not to spot him. Lance and Hunk peaked around the corner, both instantly spotting Keith there on the ground.  
“Keith,” Lance said, clearly disappointed, “How much did you hear?”  
“I’ll leave you to it,” Hunk said, quickly scrambling out of there, Cosmo hot on his heels.

Lance had his hands on his hips, glaring slightly.  
“All of it…” Keith said awkwardly, “Can you help me up?”  
Lance held his hand out and Keith groaned as he was pulled to his feet, it was starting to get difficult.  
“Maybe you shouldn’t sit on the floor anymore,” Lance said, smiling lightly.  
“Lance,” Keith said, frowning, “Come on.”  
Lance shuffled awkwardly, looking down at his feet.  
“I’m sorry,” Lance said softly.  
“What are you sorry for?” Keith said, crossing his arms, “Because if it’s for being worried about being a dad, that’s a load of rubbish.”

Lance looked up at him, biting his lip lightly before smiling weakly.  
“Sorry.”  
Keith let out a long breath, before lightly punching Lance on the arm.  
“Moron.”  
“Hey,” Lance protested, rubbing his shoulder, “What the hell!”  
“Do you really think it bothers me that much that you’re worried about becoming a parent?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.  
“I just want to support you,” Lance said softly.  
“We’re supposed to support each other,” Keith said, “We’re in this together, remember?”  
He held up his left hand, wriggling his fingers so the rings there caught the light.  
“Now stop being a moron,” Keith said, pinching Lance’s nose, “And stop doubting you’re going to be anything but an amazing parent.”  
Lance wrinkled his nose, before threatening to nip Keith’s fingers.  
“If you accept you will be too,” he said, resting his hands on Keith’s hips.  
“I’ll think about it,” Keith said, leaning forwards and pecking Lance on the lips.

****

Keith made a satisfied noise, stretching out with a groan. He winced slightly as Lance pulled out, laying next to him with a sigh. Reaching out, Keith pulled Lance close and pressed their lips together. A purr began to rumble from his chest, tongue lapping lightly at Lance’s bottom lip.  
“You are insatiable,” Lance murmured, pulling away.  
“Not my fault my alpha is so hot,” Keith said, voice vibrating with his purr.  
Lance huffed out a soft laugh, rubbing their noses together.  
“Come on,” Lance said, “We need to shower.”  
Keith smiled lightly, intentionally hooding his eyes and slipping into a more sultry smile.  
“But what if I want to get dirty again?” Keith said.  
Lance laughed, “Insatiable.”  
They pressed their lips together again, Keith pulling Lance down to press as close together as they could with his bump in the way.

Their little one, was not so little anymore. He still had a little bit left to go, but already Keith felt huge. Lance nuzzled at Keith’s neck lightly, causing the omega to preen at the attention. Lance gently ran his hand up and down Keith’s thigh, tangling his other hand in Keith’s hair.  
“No but seriously,” Lance said, “We need to shower, I promised Hunk I’d help him out.”  
“Of course you did,” Keith sighed, allowing himself to collapse back on the bed.  
Lance smiled lightly, leaning down to peck the tip of his nose. There was the sound of scratching and a loud whine from the doorway. Keith snorted softly, rubbing where their pup gave a rough kick.  
“Back to reality hey?” Lance laughed softly, “Come on, we’ll save time showering together.”

Lance slipped out of the bed, holding out his hand with a flourish. Keith rolled his eyes at the other mans antics, but allowed Lance to help him to his feet. Curling his arms around Lance’s shoulders, Keith lent close, so their lips were almost touching.  
“I love you,” he said.  
“I love you too,” Lance replied.  
A sharp kick from the pup made Lance laugh, his hand moving to rub over the area.  
“And I love you as well, little one,” he said.  
Keith smiled, intertwining their fingers.  
“Not so little anymore,” he said.  
“So small,” Lance said softly, “Our little one.”  
“You’re not the one carrying them around,” Keith snorted.  
Lance shrugged, slipping away and tugging Keith over to the showers a light grin on his face.

****

Keith was incredibly pregnant and was really feeling it. He felt like a whale and the pup seemed to have no intention of leaving, Keith was really not having a good time.  
“Hey honey,” Lance said hesitantly from the doorway, “How are you feeling?”  
Cosmo’s head snapped up from where he was laid on Keith’s feet, tail thumping lightly against the floor.  
“How do you think I’m feeling,” Keith huffed, tilting his head back.  
Lance made a soft noise, making his way over to sit beside Keith on the sofa. Keith lent against Lance’s side, snuggling as close as he could. He was so damn tired, it was just so difficult to sleep with the weight of the pup and their insistence on kicking his insides whenever Keith got comfortable. Lance’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, scratching lightly at Keith’s scalp. Finally, Keith managed to relax, closing his eyes and slipping into a doze.

A powerful kick woke him up, causing Keith to groan and rub at the area.  
“Easy, you know, if you get out you can have all the room you want,” he grumbled.  
“Our little one causing you issues?” Lance said.  
Keith grunted in acknowledgement, letting out a huff. From the last scan, they seemed to be in the right position, seemed to be healthy and ready to be born. It was now just a waiting game, a very frustrating waiting game.  
“Alright,” Lance said, shifting to lay with his face right by the bump.  
Keith grumbled softly as Lance moved and he had to reposition himself, but Lance’s hand rested softly on his bump, stroking lightly as he began to sing.

Lance had a whole host of lullabies he would sing to the bump, some in English, some in Spanish. It didn’t really matter which one he sung, it seemed to calm the pup down. It also helped Keith himself calm down, a light purr starting in his chest, rumbling through his whole body. He rested his hand on Lance’s head, letting his eyes slip closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there...These chapters...didn't quite work out the way I planned...but, I'm sure it will all work out in the end!
> 
> Urgh...I have a cold...it is...not fun. I'm all grotty so sorry if...I don't know...something strange happened in the fic and I wasn't paying attention.
> 
> So, yeah, comments and kudos are great...I hoped you enjoyed, thanks for reading!


	6. Plus One

_Males, regardless of secondary sex, are incapable of breast feeding. For a long time it was unknown why this was, but recent developments and facts have shed some light on the matter. It has recently been found that, unlike the modern day approximately 50/50 split, in the past there were many more omega males than omega females. It is believed that it was the males responsibility to carry the child to term and then for the new-born to be fed by the females. This allowed for faster energy recovery after pregnancy, allowing more pregnancies. It also allows the pup to feed for longer, which is good in times of hardship._

Keith was pretty sure he was in hell, he should not have come on this mission. Although, honestly, being on the ship with only Coran for company would probably have been far, far worse. The planet they were going down to was apparently very peaceful with highly advanced medical facilities. That was the only reason they’d let Keith, who looked about ready to pop, go down. Unfortunately, what they’d forgotten to mention was the fact the place occasionally suffered from electrical storms.

Now, Lance and Keith were trapped in the red lion, in a cave, without the comms and a complete inability to go anywhere. Now, Keith was tucked in the less than comfortable bed in the red lion’s belly in the best nest he could manage, trying to get some sleep. There was an ache in his back and their pup seemed to be much more active, what he hoped were only Braxton hicks were really starting to get annoying.

There was the light tapping of feet as Lance made his way down the stairs, letting out a long breath of irritation.  
“No luck?” Keith said, shifting to sit up.  
Lance jumped slightly, “You’re supposed to be asleep.”  
“Kind of difficult to sleep here,” Keith replied, rubbing his back.  
Lance hummed, moving to sit beside him on the bed. Keith chirruped softly, tilting his head back. Lance complied, bending down to nose at his neck and nip at the scent glands there. He hummed thoughtfully, rubbing up and down Keith’s arms.  
“You alright? Your scent is a bit off,” he said, curling his fingers around Keith’s hands.  
“Fine,” Keith sighed, “Well, as fine as I can be.”  
Lance hummed, “We’ll just have to wait until the storm clears up, of all the things not to mention.”  
Keith snorted lightly, pressing a kiss under Lance’s jaw. Lance’s had shifted to massage firmly at the base of Keith’s spine, pressing and rubbing in all the right places.

Keith managed to relax against Lance, settling against him and letting out a hum. Keith had just managed to settle back, when a sharp pain laced through him and his abdomen tightened. Keith stiffened, resting his hand on his bump. That, was a proper contraction. The pup got excited, kicking and pushing out.  
“They causing you problems again?” Lance said softly.  
Keith hesitated, he should tell Lance. But labour could last a long time, the storm would probably end long before they’d have to worry about it.  
“Just wants attention,” Keith said.  
“Come on little one,” Lance said softly, “Let your dad sleep.”  
Keith smiled lightly, reaching up and pressing a hand to Lance’s cheek, rubbing lightly with his thumb.

Keith fought back a groan as another contraction gripped him, trying not to disturb Lance who was dozing beside him. Although, it was probably time to wake Lance up and tell him what was going on. There wasn’t a clock or anything in the red lion, so Keith had no idea how long they’d been there, or how long it was between contractions. But they were getting reasonably close together and quite intense. Not time to start panicking, but time to tell Lance.

“Lance,” Keith said, turning and shaking Lance’s shoulder lightly, “Lance, wake up.”  
Lance groaned slightly, eyes fluttering open and arm tightening around Keith’s shoulders.  
“What’s wrong?” Lance mumbled.  
Keith sighed, bracing for the freak-out.  
“I’m in labour,” he said.  
There was a pause, then more of a pause, then enough time passed that Keith worried that Lance had passed out. That was until.  
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Lance said, “Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke.”  
“I wish it was,” Keith said.  
Lance groaned, burying his face in his hands.  
“No…Why…What the hell are we going to do?” he said, “We need to get back to the castle.”  
Keith smiled weakly, “We can’t, not during this storm. We’d barely get out of this cave before Red’ll be taken down.”

There was another pause, then Lance let out a harsh breath.  
“Well we can’t deliver a baby in here!” Lance half-shouted, hands curling into fists over his eyes.  
“We might have to!” Keith shouted back.  
They glared at each other for a moment, before Keith let out a harsh breath and started to feel himself shaking. Oh god, what the hell were they going to do if they couldn’t get out in time? Keith groaned as another contraction gripped him, hunching over slightly. Lance’s hand immediately rubbed between Keith’s shoulder blades.  
“Lance,” Keith hissed, sitting up as the pain ebbed, “I just, I need you to get a grip ok? Please, I need you to hold it together!”  
Lance’s arms wrapped around him, pulling Keith into a hug and rubbing his back. Keith had a feeling this was about as much to comfort Lance as it was for Keith.

Lance pulled away, cupping Keith’s face in his hands.   
“So, what are we thinking?” he asked.  
Keith rested their foreheads together.  
“They’re not too close together, we still have time,” he said.  
Lance sighed, “I’ll go check on everything, hopefully we have enough time.”  
Keith wanted to protest, he didn’t want Lance to leave him alone and vulnerable. But for one, Lance really did need to check how the storm was and if they had any communications. For two, Lance needed some time to calm down more. Besides, he was in Red, couldn’t really get safer than that. Keith nodded, trying to relax back against the pillows as Lance made his way back up to Red’s head.

Keith groaned and breathed through two more contractions before Lance came back. Their pup seemed none too pleased with what was happening, kicking and moving as best they could in their small space. Keith shifted onto his side, padding around himself as best he could with the blankets and pillows. Eventually the sound of footsteps reached his ears and Keith tilted his head up, humming softly. Lance let out a long breath, moving to tuck himself against Keith’s back.  
“Nothing?” Keith questioned.  
“Nothing,” Lance confirmed, “I’ve brought one of the tablets down, it should tell us if anything changes.”  
Keith nodded, all they could do now was wait.

****

Waiting was apparently not their pup’s strong suit, although to be fair to them the storm had been raging for a while. Lance was doing the best he could, holding Keith close and whispering softly too him. It was getting a little annoying, but it kept him somewhat distracted to what was happening. However, with a particularly painful contraction, uncomfortably close to the last one. Keith had to accept it, their pup was going to be born here.

“Lance,” Keith said softly, “I don’t think it’s going to be much longer.”  
Lance rubbed up and down Keith’s side, taking a deep breath. He didn’t have any time to say anything before Keith was curling up, hissing in pain.  
“Damn it,” Lance said, shifting away.  
Keith unintentionally wined, turning his head to try and see where Lance was going.  
“I’m going to grab some stuff,” Lance said, pressing a kiss to Keith’s temple, “I will not be long, scream if anything happens.”  
Keith rolled his eyes, but nodded as Lance scrambled away.

Keith shut his eyes, moving up his shirt to rub over the bare skin.  
“You couldn’t have waited?” he said with a sigh, “Impatient, just like your papa, just like me.”  
Gritting his teeth at a particularly painful contraction, Keith’s eyes snapped open as a wetness ran down between his legs.  
“Shit,” Keith said softly, “Shit, shit, shit.”  
There had been a slight hope, a small thought that it was possible they’d get out of here before their pup was going to be born. He could feel them dropping though, things were happening fast.

Lance came scrambling back in, arms full of blankets and towels and other stuff…but mostly towels…why did he have so many towels.  
“Why do you have so many towels in Red?” Keith asked, for a moment forgetting his predicament.  
Lance shrugged, “When you have a towel emergency.”  
“What the hell is a towel emergency?”  
“When your mate is giving birth.”  
Keith laughed, which shifted into a pained hiss.  
“My water broke,” Keith said, “Very soon, very very soon.”  
Lance took a deep breath, Keith could see the slight shaking of his hands.  
“Right, ok,” he said, “How do you want to do this?”

Keith thought for a moment, he’d done a lot of nervous reading in the later stages of his pregnancy. It was really going to come in useful now.  
“Put a bunch of towels and blankets beside the bed, I’m going to kneel on them and use the bed for support,” Keith said, taking a deep steadying breath, “You’re not going to faint if I ask you to catch?”  
Lance honestly looked like he was going to collapse right then and there, but he took a deep breath and shook his head.

As Lance set up, as quickly and as well as he could, Keith relaxed back as well as he could, gritting his teeth. A particularly painful one, followed by a massive increase in pressure and the need to push.  
“Shit Lance, I need to push!” Keith groaned, tossing his head back.  
“Hang on!” Lance said, shuffling a few more things around, “Almost there.”  
“I can’t really wait!” Keith snapped.

They managed to shuffle around and get sorted, soon Keith was knelt up, leaning against the bed bare below the waist. He pressed his face into the covers, tangling his fingers in the blankets and squeezing tightly. He didn’t really know what he was doing, neither did Lance really. Keith could only hope his instincts were right and he hadn’t started pushing too soon. At this point though, he just wanted it over with.   
“Deep breaths,” Lance said, rubbing Keith’s back, “Come on, I know you can do it.”  
Keith grumbled lightly, twisting his hands tighter in the blankets. Lance shifted away suddenly and Keith immediately missed his warmth, but was distracted by the need to push.  
“I can see the head,” Lance said, suddenly appearing by his side, “They’ve got black hair.”  
“You’re not going to pass our are you?” Keith shot back.  
“No way,” Lance said, “No way, we’re in this together right? Although to be fair, you are doing most of the work.”

The world narrowed to bringing their pup into the world, to breathing and pushing, in that moment, nothing else mattered. Keith yelled, almost screamed as pain rocketed up his spine.  
“Head’s out,” Lance said, “Just a bit more, breathe Keith.”  
“I am breathing!” Keith snapped.  
Just a few more pushes, a little more work. The red lion was filled with the high-pitched cry of a new-born. Relief surged through Keith’s body and his legs gave out.

****

They were still trapped on the planet, in a cave, in the red lion. Everything was a bit of a mess, they’d cleaned up as best they could but Red offered very little in the way of amenities. It probably didn’t also help that Keith wouldn’t let Lance out of his sight. But all of this, Keith didn’t care about. After all, he had his precious baby girl in his arms. She’d made him sick, he’d felt her weight as she’d grown, felt her movements, now, she was right here, in his arms. Keith couldn’t help the purr rubling from him. It was…almost perfect…

“Lance,” Keith called, “Lance come here.”  
Lance was pacing up and down the floor, tapping on the tablet with an irritated grumble.   
“Lance, storm’s not going to clear up any faster as you tap on that, come here,” Keith called out, “Come on, I want you here!”  
His voice slipped into wining territory, he just wanted his alpha beside him.  
“I just want to get you two back to the castle,” Lance said, “I want to make sure you both are ok.”  
“Pacing won’t help,” Keith said, “We’re fine.”  
Lance was on edge though and it looked like Keith’s placations were really not helping. Time for a different tactic.

“She needs a name,” Keith said, shifting her around in his arms slightly.  
She made a soft noise in protest, but settled quickly enough. She looked just like Lance, the resemblance was incredible, apart from her thick mop of black hair. Him and Lance had discussed some names, but decided to wait on choosing until after their pup was born.  
“You know,” Keith said softly, “I think Stella suits her.”  
There was a halt in Lance’s pacing, a thoughtful pause. Then the tapping of his feet stared up again, but moving towards him instead. Keith smiled, nodding to the bed beside him.

Lance let out a huff of breath, before settling on the bed beside Keith. He reached over, gently pushing the blanket away from her face, smoothing a finger over his cheek.  
“Hey little one,” Lance said softly.  
“We can’t just call her little one,” Keith said with a light smile.  
“But she is my little one,” Lance whispered, bending down to press a kiss to her forehead.  
She opened her eyes, bight blue eyes, blinking sleepily at Lance. She reached out a tiny hand from the bundles of blankets, immediately latching onto Lance’s finger.   
“But I suppose Stella suites her well enough,” Lance said, “Hello Stella.”  
She blinked at him, nose twitching as she took in his scent.

Keith yawned, before groaning lightly.  
“Tired?” Lance asked idly.  
Keith raised his eyebrows, “I just gave birth.”  
Lance huffed, clicking his tongue lightly. Keith smiled lightly, resting his head against Lance’s shoulder.  
“Take her,” Keith said, holding out Stella lightly, “She needs to get used to your scent.”  
Lance hesitated for a second, before gently taking her out of his arms. Stella grumbled lightly as she was passed over, but settled very quickly against Lance’s chest. His hand easily rested on her back and Keith smiled at the sight. Tucking himself against Lance’s side, laid against his shoulder, Keith reached over and rested his own hand on top of Lance’s.

“Sleep now,” Lance said, “It’s ok, I’m here.”  
Keith hummed lightly, eyes slipping closed. A strange noise filled the air, well it wasn’t strange, it was a purr. But, it wasn’t coming just from Keith. Shifting slightly to lay more on Lance’s chest, a smile twitched up the corners of Keith’s mouth.  
“Lance.”  
“Yeah?”   
“You’re purring?”  
“What?”  
“You’re purring,” Keith chuckled, “Listen.”  
They both fell silent and listened to the rumbling fill the room, two separate rumblings that were slightly out of sync.  
“Huh,” Lance said, “I’ve never done that before.”  
Keith hummed lightly, rubbing his face lightly against Lance’s shoulder. Stella seemed to have fallen asleep again, tucked safely between Lance’s hand and chest. With that image in his head, and a smile on his face, Keith drifted off to sleep.

 

****

****

**Several Months Later**

****

****

Keith was earlier than he planned, but the shuttles had an annoying habit of being a bit unreliable and late. Well, being early meant he could have a sit down for a bit, possibly feed Stella if she was hungry. She seemed quite happy in her pram though, looking around at the new environment. It was the first time he’d taken her to the garrison, luckily she was more interested than scared with the new environment. There were several students wandering around as he pushed her towards one of the staff rooms, they stared at him for a moment before their eyes darted to the pram he was pushing. It probably wasn’t every day you saw the Black paladin of Voltron pushing a baby around with a huge space-wolf by his side.

Keith pressed his hand to the scanner and the staffroom door slid open, it was empty, which was expected as lessons were going on. Collapsing onto a chair, Keith began to rock the pram back and forth, hoping to lull Stella to sleep. It probably wouldn’t happen, far too exciting, but it was worth a shot. Cosmo lay at his feet, tail thumping lightly on the on the ground. Cosmo seemed to like Stella well enough, although the two of them really hadn’t had much interaction, she was still a bit young. He liked to watch her though, liked to sit by her crib and guard her on occasion.

The door slip open with a whoosh, Keith glanced up from his tablet.  
“Keith?” Veronica asked, stepping into the room, “I didn’t expect to see you here?”  
Acxa stepped in after her, Keith was a little surprised, he thought she was still in space.  
“I’m here to see Lance,” he said, “Thought I’d surprise him, and visit everyone.”  
“I figured,” she smiled, wandering over to peer into the pram, “Hey Stella, aren’t you getting big?”  
She cooed lightly, before glancing over at Keith. He nodded and Veronica lifted her from the pram, cradling her against her chest.  
“She looks just like Lance,” Veronica laughed, “Poor kid.”  
Keith rolled his eyes, reclining back.  
“But looking like my idiot brother doesn’t stop you from being adorable,” Veronica cooed, “Does it? Does it?”

Acxa looked confused, sitting down beside Keith.  
“We were told you two were expecting a kit, well, had a kit,” she said.  
Keith nodded, “Her name is Stella, you can hold her if you want.”  
Keith had gotten surprisingly good at reading other people over the years, if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have noticed the split second of fear pass across her face. He glanced at Veronica, she’d noticed it too.   
“No, no it’s alright,” Axca shook her head.

“It’s ok,” Keith said, “She loved being held, or any attention really.”  
“She really is Lance’s daughter,” Veronica chuckled, “I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you.”  
“Ah, no, it’s really alright,” Axca said.  
Veronica shrugged and continued to coo lightly to Stella, who was very happy tucked in her aunt’s arms. It gave Keith a chance to check some of his work without having to worry about her. Veronica soon moved to sit with them, Axca peering curiously down at Stella. Keith tapped through the information on the latest ship they had developed, luckily they were from Hunk so the technical jargon was toned down a enough for Keith to understand. It seemed pretty alright and they wanted Keith to fly some simulations of it before building. Unfortunately, that would take all day, which meant they needed a day when Lance was off and could look after Stella.

Glancing up, Keith smiled as he spotted Axca, holding Stella in her arms. She was looking slightly panicked, but staring down at Stella who was staring back in interest.  
“She’s so…small,” she said.  
Veronica reached over, shifting Axca’s arms around to Stella was settled more comfortably.  
“You’ve never held a baby before?” she asked.  
Axca shook her head, “Never anyone this young, are all human kits this small?”  
“Some are bigger,” Keith said, “But she’s about average for her age, you should’ve seen her when she was a new-born.”  
“She was small for a new-born,” Veronica nodded, “Lance told me.”  
“She was big enough,” Keith said dryly.

The door slid open again and Shiro wandered in, pinching the bridge of his nose. He froze as he spotted the scene in front of him.  
“Keith?” Shiro asked, “Veronica? Was there a party I wasn’t told about.”  
He crossed his arms, attempting to look as sad as possible. Keith was married to Lance though, he was immune to even the most intense kicked-puppy look.  
“I came to see Lance, and whoever else I ran into on the way,” Keith said.  
“So you brought my niece in and didn’t think to tell me?” Shiro said, voice dripping in fake-hurt.  
“You can hold her if you want,” Axca said, “I, have something I need to do.”  
Shiro looked surprised as Stella was thrust into his arms and Axca made a hasty retreat.  
“I should probably check she’s alright,” Veronica said, following after her, “Tell Lance hey from me.”  
Keith nodded as she walked out. Shiro looked at him and shrugged before sitting beside him, Stella in his arms.

Keith managed to get a surprisingly large amount of work done before Stella began to get fussy, and he had to take her back. By then it was about time for Lance to get out of lessons for the day, so, trusting Shiro to look after the pram while he went to surprise Lance.

They were working on the simulator that day, so Keith headed down there, Stella resting comfortably in his arms, Cosmo loyally by his feet. As he made his way to the last set of doors, Keith stepped aside to allow the flood of children to pass. The first few barely seemed to notice him, so caught up in their own conversations. A soft gasp from one of them and the whole crowd seemed to stop, basically all crashing into each other and causing a mixture of excited and confused muttering to travel through the crowd.

“Come on guys, keep it moving!” Lance’s voice rang out over the group of children, “I’m sure whatever it is can wait until your back in the dorms.  
“But sir! It’s the black paladin!” one of the kids shouted.  
“Really?” Lance said, clearly not believing the kid, “Well I’m sure he has better things to do then stand there and have you staring at him, now move on.”  
“Yes, I would like to see my husband, have you seen him?” Keith said with a light smile.  
“Keith?” Lance asked, “Right, get moving, come on he’s not something to stare at.”  
There was general muttering, but the students began to shuffle away, still staring at Keith. Lance was bringing up the rear, a huge smile on his face, waving enthusiastically as he got closer. Keith smiled at Lance’s dopey expression, chuckling softly at him.

“Hey!” Lance said brightly, “What are you doing here?”  
“We decided to come surprise you,” Keith smiled.  
Cosmo teleported away from Keith’s side, clearly deciding he couldn’t wait for the last few stragglers to pass. He appeared right behind Lance, almost right on top of him. Lance laughed as Cosmo rose onto his hind legs, resting his paws on Lance’s shoulders, his head on Lance’s.  
“Hey buddy!” Lance laughed, reaching behind to scratch Cosmo’s belly.

The last few kids seemed to be gawping, not really attempting to go anywhere. Keith easily slipped past them, having to shift his grip as Stella tried to lean forwards. She reached out to Lance, making soft but demanding noises.  
“There’s my little one,” Lance said, easily lifting her into his arms and pressing kisses all over her face.  
Cosmo barked, dropping down to weave between Lance and Keith’s legs. Keith smiled, scratching the top of his head. Lance was still cooing over Stella, bouncing her lightly in his arms. Which was why Keith jumped slightly when Lance pressed a kiss on his temple. Keith glanced up and had just enough time to see a bright smile before Lance was pressing kisses all over his face. Keith laughed, trying to pull away slightly, but Lance just followed him.

Keith smiled, cupping Lance’s cheek to guide him into a proper kiss. Lance made a pleased hum, melting into the kiss. Something warm and a bit nostalgic seemed to spread in Keith’s chest, filling him up and unintentionally causing tears to prick his eyes slightly.  
“I love you,” Keith said softly, “I love you so much.”  
Lance didn’t mention the slight thickness in Keith’s voice, just pressed a kiss to the end of his nose.  
“I love you too,” Lance said, “Both of you.”  
Cosmo made a soft noise, trying to worm his way between them.  
“Sorry,” Lance laughed, “All three of you.”

Keith basically melted at Lance’s interaction with their daughter. This dumb, crazy, wonderful man, then man he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life with, the man he’d had a baby with. Keith wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! Bet you weren't expect me to post it this soon after the last one! So, the babu has been born and all is good that has come from the mess...
> 
> Literally, I don't know if it is possible for me to write angst...well I can...but I have to add extra fluff to soften the blow...fluff! Anyway, I used the same name for their daughter as my other A/B/O multichapter fic Keith's pack (Shameless plug!) because it's adorable and I think it's fitting.
> 
> Anyway, I am putting this series on hiatus for a little while, I don't know how long for but I promise it will be coming back at some point. There are a few more projects I want too work on, both fanfic and not...I also need some time to take the ideas you guys have been suggesting for me and working out how to turn them into full-blown fics. So anyway, fell free to keep suggesting ideas, I will get to them eventually.
> 
> So, thank you so much for reading, comments and kudos are really appreciated. I hope you enjoyed it and it was worth the wait for updates!


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